Hurricane “Norma” is expected to approach the southern portion of Baja California Sur tonight, causing severe weather conditions including heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
A 57-year-old woman lost her life to the raging waters brought by Storm Babet in Glen Esk, Scotland on a Thursday afternoon, October 19, 2023, marking a somber note in the cascade of adversities brought about by the storm that saw hundreds of homes evacuated and over 20 000 households plunged into darkness. Severe flooding was also reported in parts of Ireland, where an investigation is now in progress as to why red warnings were not issued for areas that witnessed devastating effects.
A strong earthquake registered by PHIVOLCS as M6.2 hit Mindanao, Philippines at 18:58 UTC on October 19, 2023 (02:58 LT, October 20). The agency is reporting a depth of 5 km (3.1 miles). USGS is reporting M5.9 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
Relentless rainfall has plagued Adamawa State in Northeast Nigeria since October 5, 2023, culminating in devastating floods that have claimed 275 lives as of October 19. The situation worsened with the release of water from the Lagdo Dam in neighboring Cameroon, prompting emergency alerts and responses across various regions.
A freight train operated by KiwiRail found itself engulfed by a landslide on the South Island’s West Coast near Hawks Crag in the early hours of Monday, October 16, 2023. The incident, which led to a minor derailment, saw the lone engineer on board escaping without any injury.
New activity/unrest was reported for 3 volcanoes from October 11 to 17, 2023. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 18 volcanoes.
After several days of increased activity, a strong eruption took place at Russia’s Bezymianny volcano at around 04:30 UTC on October 18, 2023. As a result, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) increased the Aviation Color Code from Orange to Red.
One person was killed in Coatzacoalcos City, and over 700 houses were affected by floods in Veracruz State, Mexico, due to heavy rainfall and strong winds over the past few days. Additionally, a new tropical cyclone named Norma is expected to approach Baja California Sur on October 22 – 23, 2023.
Storm Babet is forecasted to bring heavy rains and severe winds over parts of Ireland on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, and the United Kingdom on Thursday and Friday, October 19 and 20, triggering the UK’s first Red warning for rain since February 2020.
Corrosive ash fallout from the massive eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano last year has triggered a series of power outages on Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu, beginning September 2022. Tonga Power, the island’s electricity provider, has termed the situation a “crisis” due to the unprecedented damage to the High Voltage Aerial Bundled Cabling across the island.
